In Israel, over 120,000 patients now consume 4.5 tonnes of cannabis a month

Israel, pioneer in medical cannabis, publishes a monthly status report on its medical cannabis program. According to data to end October, the number of Israeli patients treated with medical cannabis reached 120,944, some 1,500 more than in September. After 10 years of therapeutic cannabis, the increase in the number of patients is now less sustained month after month, and down 50% on the rate of increase in 2021.

The quantity of therapeutic cannabis to which Israeli patients are entitled also increased in October, from around 4,575 kg in September to around 4,600 kg in October. Of these 4.6 tonnes, 4,174 kg (approx. 91 %) were in inflorescence and 423 kg (approx. 9 %) in oils and extractions, this being the eligibility figure and not the amount actually issued, which usually reaches 80% of what is authorized.

In terms of indications for which patients are entitled to a license: 65,336 patients are licensed for the «chronic pain» section, representing around 55% of patients and a slight decrease on the previous month. Second on the list, as usual, is the «other» section, which continues to climb, this time from around 18,479 in September to 19,138 in October.

In third place: 17,485 of patients are licensed for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) - a figure that signifies a relatively high increase over the last month in this section compared to previous months as well as to the chronic pain section.

In fourth place are 12,682 oncology patients (cancer - past or present) - a figure that signifies the continuation of a downward trend in the number of people eligible for the cannabis for cancer-related indications.

Still in the data, around 56,000 of the patients (approx. 46 %) are between 21 and 45 years of age, around 41,000 patients (approx. 34 %) are between 46 and 65 years of age, around 21,500 patients (approx. 18 %) are between 66 and 66 years of age and over, as well as a few fractions of a few percent more are children and boys up to the age of 20 - mainly autistic and epileptic.

The French Ministry of Health, which deplored a lack of knowledge about medical cannabis and data from the French therapeutic cannabis experiment, could probably look for some data over there!